Have you ever wished that you could save the day and get the boy/girl at the end of the movie? Well then you can live out your wildest dreams and fantasies as Finbar Hoban Presents... Marvel Comics Heroes and Villains fancy dress party next Saturday night February 5 at Bar Ritz (Mulroys Bar ) Castlebar. All you have to do is dress as up as your favourite comic book hero or villain. There are loads of prizes to be won for best dressed on the night.
Live music will come from one of Ireland’s most successful bands, Ham Sandwich. Bono from U2 once stated that the band would have to change their name because a name such as Ham Sandwich would never work in the music industry. The band recently said: “We called ourselves Ham Sandwich, not because we like sandwiches, or because of the sexual innuendo, or to get away from the ubiquitous-prefix-followed-by-esoteric-noun formula that most bands follow, but because we couldn’t give a f@£K what our gang is called, the stupider the better. It’s a bit of a blessing I guess, no-one ever forgets the name and it makes us work harder.”
Inevitably, levels of ambition and confidence grew as the band became more proficient. Each subsequent single release received more positive responses than the previous one. In early 2008, their debut album, Carry The Meek, was released. Within days, the band received the Meteor Music Hope for 2008 Award. The remainder of 2008 was spent touring the album, getting to know the songs inside out, and being aware of the difference between entertainment and novelty value.
The band’s new album White Fox is available now and the new single, ‘Ants’, is released today. It is a different animal to the power pop debut 'Carry The Meek' and one likely to edge Ham Sandwich closer to mainstream success.
Support for this show comes from Dublin band Bipolar Empire. The band’s most recent single ‘Tempomanic’ was used in the most recent advertisement for 2fm with Ryan Turbidy and Hector O hEochagáin arriving into work. Bipolar Empire had always been a solid three piece but instinctively felt that there was perhaps a missing ingredient, something that would take their sound and live show to the next level. They approached long time friend Mark Maguire, a talented guitarist and song writer, and were delighted when he agreed to get on board. With Maguire now a fully fledged member of Bipolar Empire, the band went on to perform a triumphant set at this year’s Oxegen Festival, playing to a packed out crowd at the 2FM Hot Press Academy Stage. The as yet untitled debut album from Bipolar Empire is all but in the bag and scheduled for release in 2011. The lead single, the outrageously catchy ‘Tempomanic’, was released last October.
Also on the night Fox Jaw Bounty Hunters return to Bar Ritz. Their new single, called ‘Thread the Needle’, is out next Monday, with the new album arriving on the shelves in March, The Devil In Music. DJ Marc Conway also returns to Bar Ritz spinning tunes you will not hear anywhere else in Castlebar right now. With a chance of winning four pairs of tickets to Hells Bells AC/DC Tribute band taking in place in the Ruby Room of the TF Royal Hotel on Saturday, March 26 and lots more give-aways Bar Ritz is the only place to be next Saturday night for Castlebar’s Heroes and Villains fancy dress party.
